Media Critique

Fox News Media Critique 

        I was searching through many news sites to find an article to critique, and this one particularly caught my eye just from the title. "Blood stains, broken crystal bowls reported after brawl at New York wedding reception," just does not sound promising to begin with. After reading just the first paragraph, I noted that the article was lacking a few things to make it a considerably journalistic piece. 

       Initially, it lacks the yardstick of newsworthiness. Why would a national news platform report on a minor happening in New York State? How does a private wedding affect the audience as a whole? The topic of a minor incident would categorize as peripheral, rather than the core that media is supposed to bring us. Also, the article is not necessarily important. Instead of following the journalistic principle of making the important interesting, they seemed to have done the opposite. Why should they focus on something that is a small issue rather than the millions of other relevant events occurring today? 

      In addition to these problems, the article also seems to lack proper verification. The author did verify the truth with the local police, but the firsthand sources were given with very limited detail. They referred to a source as "one person who worked the event," which seems unacceptable. How do we, as audience members, know that this is true? 

      Ultimately, my biggest grievance with this article is the last sentence. The author states that, "No arrests have been reported." If no arrests have been reported, let alone any potential suspects, the story is simply unimportant. If a possible suspect had been identified, then the journalist may have been able to get the person's perspective. However, this yardstick of fairness seemed to be left out. Additionally, the article does not follow the yardstick of explanation. The report seems to be very episodic, considering that they did not follow up on the outcome of the crime. 

Classmate Review: Savanna

   Your blog is absolutely outstanding! Not only were each of your lecture responses very long and detailed, but they also covered a lot of ground. My favorite post of yours was the mass communication analysis. I read through several blogs before coming across this one. Your word choice and flow made it much better to read. I particularly liked the connection you made to our every day lives involving social media. It takes an extraordinary student to not only retain what is discussed in class, but to also extend the meaning of it to other important aspects of our lives. What also made your blog stand out was your usage of historical connections. The way you briefly mentioned facts and explained their relevance to a higher dimension really shaped the effect of your posts. I can't wait to read more!


To see more of Savanna's blog: http://savannavest.blogspot.com/

Classmate Review: Jennifer

    I found your blog to be very entertaining! Each post was written with high quality and evident thought. I found many of your reactions to be agreeable with great explanations. My favorite post of yours was "The Impact of the Press," because it provided an in-depth analysis connecting nearly everything we have learned to one topic. I also appreciated some of your foreshadowing into the future about the direction media is taking. Even though your writing covered many aspects, it was still short and direct. I found this good because it kept from getting off topic. This style of writing mirrors that published by professional journalists, who are paid to make the important interesting. This was very unique to find on a classmate's blog. Keep on writing.

Jennifer Snelling's Blog

Binary Models

     We recently learned about binary models, or models in mass communication that have two categories they fall in. The one I find to be the most relevant in all mass media is information/entertainment. I think this because it also can be associated with the elitist/populist model, in the fact that many companies that intend to be elitist information will sway to populist entertainment for the purpose of ratings and money. This can happen through the process of conglomeration, where smaller companies are meshed with larger ones. An example of conglomeration is certainly evident with Disney and its several denominations that we may not even associate with Disney in our minds. I think conglomeration can ruin the intent for essential elitist information companies.

Books

    Recently, we learned about the beginnings of books. Books were the first form of mass communication, originating as early as the Mesopotamian days. By the eleventh century, methods of book production had evolved to the moveable wooden type press. However, this was costly and inefficient as wood broke easily. Pieces would have to be replaced frequently. Then came Gutenburg, the man who invented the revolutionary metal moveable type press. This made book production smooth and quick, and books were being published by the hundreds all across Europe.

    The biggest impact of books were the increase of literacy, which was obviously needed to read books. Literate common people could do much more than before. They spoke out as Protestants against the Church. Education in general boomed. I find it intriguing how much of our society today can be traced back to Gutenburg's impacts (literacy, education, government, economic classes, religion, etc). Books also led to the production of other mass mediums that we still use heavily today.

Magazines

        The other day, we discussed magazines in class. We learned that the first magazine was made in 1741 by no other than Benjamin Franklin. I did not find this surprising as he can be considered the creator of many 18th century inventions. It interested me how magazines became popular nationwide just prior to the beginnings of the Civil War. That makes me wonder if collective, in-depth analyzations of war happenings were published in the magazines. Magazines also helped create a national identity for the U.S. through art and literature. This publication was so important because it was the first to truly become national with a vast audience. It became this way with the passing of the Postal Act of 1879, where magazines could be sold for a penny per pound. Magazines led to the innovation of photojournalism, which is something we could not picture media without today. Eventually, radio killed the magazine business and forced magazine companies into demassification.

Newspaper

    Today, we learned about the beginnings of newspapers. This was a fascinating lecture, because I have to say I'd never thought about something as common as a newspaper. The 500-year tradition of newspaper happens to be one of its advantages. Older generations are the ones sustaining the print industry now. Also, as Mr. Miller discussed, newspapers are portable, low-tech news sources. It does not require a battery or wifi to catch the daily headlines. Newspapers are nonlinear, meaning that you do not have to read them start to finish. The wider range of content and low prices also are appealing to a large audience. As long as we are literate (thanks to the mass production of books), we will be able to use newspapers. 

     However, newspapers did not always exist. In 59 B.C.E., the first known newspaper was published. It was Roman, and best summarized as published propaganda. These broadsheets posted on church walls advanced to printed sheets passed out in the masses, thanks to the invention of the metal moveable type press. I found it particularly interesting how the freedoms of speech and press really evolved from the court case of John Peter Zenger. Just imagine a nation that didn't value the truth over everything else. Newspapers provided a public platform for political groups to express their ideas on social issues. Eventually, during the Yellow Journalism era, populist newspapers were cheap and widespread. This revolutionized news and journalism in a way that is still evident today.